new footage of Alex Gray from the hawaii season featured on Surfer.com

click HERE to watch the nuggets.

photo courtesy of Ocean Minded

If somebody had said to me on January 1 this year that I would finish
the year having jumped from No. 5  to No. 2 plus pick up a CT contest
win along the way, I’d have gone: “I’ll take that!”.
That’s how 2008 has ended for me and I’m stoked with how the year has gone.
Would I have wanted to have finished No. 1?
Of course!
But Kelly just had such an amazing year and was nearly unbeatable.
That might have demoralised others on the tour but it didn’t me.
Quite the opposite actually.
I learnt heaps from this year, both from watching how Kelly went about
remorselessly hunting down that phenomenal 9th world title, and from
my own experiences.
I will take that all into next year.
Kelly is an amazing athlete that pro surfing is so fortunate to have.
I’ve seen articles comparing him to Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.
He’s definitely in their company in terms of what he has achieved and
that has helped the credibility of surfing so much.
But in 2009 I won’t be out there to lie down for him.  I know he wants
10 world titles.  My plan is to be in the way.
I know it’s a massive task but I’m up for it.
When I reflect on this last year, there are some good memories.
Winning in Brazil was obviously the highlight but I actually felt I
probably did my best surfing at Trestles at the Boost Mobile
Pro.  Trestles is just such a high performance wave when it’s on plus
I had an amazing board I could do no wrong on.
My best heat was probably against Owen Wright at The Search in Indo.
The waves were pumping and we had a really close high scoring heat
that went down to my last wave before I shook him off.
I think another key this year has been that I kept my training up all
year and didn’t slacken off like I have done in the past.
That made for more consistency in my performances.
I also changed my backhand tube-riding technique and that worked so
much better on some of the barrelling lefts on tour.
I made a few mistakes this year that cost me.  I’m not losing any
sleep over that because you learn from your errors.
A good example was not following Kelly over to Rincon in the Bells
final when I held the lead and priority.  That ain’t ever going to
happen again!
I’m also stepping my training up even more for 2009 and I will also
make an additional trip to Tahiti just to put a bit of extra time in
there.
People ask me that now I am No. 2, do I feel like I’ve now permanently
shed the underdog status thing.
Not entirely, I believe.  I still don’t get the media attention like
the other guys but there has been a huge difference this past year.
It was good to close off the year with Hawaii having one of its best
seasons in a long time.  There were so many good days plus we got
really good waves for the Triple Crown too.
The last day of the event at Haleiwa was pretty insane.  Other than
the semi-final heat Parko and I were in when no waves came through at
all (it was really bizarre…it just stopped for 20 minutes), the surf
was awesome that final day.
One guy who caught my eye this winter was Dusty Payne.  He is such a
talented surfer, and he can do it all whether the waves are big or
small.  He has a massive future in surfing.
I felt Adrian Buchan made big gains on the tour this year and is a guy
that we should be watching for.  Ace had such a good second half of
the season and finished 6th
overall, so he is improving really fast.
I’m spending the Xmas/New Year break relaxing and spending time with
family and friends up at Stradbroke Island, enjoying myself before I
get back into a heavy training routine.
Have a great Christmas everybody.  Hope you all get some waves and I
will talk to you in ‘09!

-Bede

Taylor Knox takes us through a typical day in the life of a pro surfer during the hawaii season on the world famous North Shore.

Click HERE to see the video clip!

it’s ON! Can you imagine winning $50 grand for one mind-boggling maneuver? Well it’s game on baby and OAM’s Mitch Coleborn and Jay Davies are up for the coveted Airstrike title!

Check out Mitch’s nutso rodeo and Jay Davies in-human alley-oop! and VOTE!

click HERE to watch the action and vote.

***courtesy of Surfline***

AS AN AUSTRALIAN, WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WIN THE VANS TRIPLE CROWN LAST YEAR?
It’s pretty much every surfer’s dream and not many Aussies have ever won it. It’s really tough to beat the Hawaiians, so it was a pretty big achievement for me. Every event is so different and you can do well in one event and not the other. You just have to be consistent. For me, it’s definitely an advantage to surf Haleiwa and Sunset on my forehand. Maybe not Pipe, but those two for sure.

HOW WAS IT TO WIN THE PIPELINE MASTERS, NOT AT PIPE?
It kinda sucked really because it was small and shitty. It was at Off-the-Wall. But still, I was just ecstatic to win and to win the Triple Crown as well. Both in the same day was a dream come true.

WHAT’S YOUR VIBE BEEN ON THE NORTH SHORE THIS YEAR?
I’ve been hanging here at Backyards… same place I stayed last year in a nice quiet neighborhood. They’re a really nice family and I stay below their house. Lately, I’ve been surfing Haleiwa, Rocky Point, Backyards and Sunset — nowhere else really. During the downtime, I’ve just playing some footy with the Aussie guys down at Sunset school. My wife’s here now so I’ve been hanging with her a bit. Other than that, I’ve just been relaxing, sitting on the couch watching tele.

IS YOUR LIFE DIFFERENT IN HAWAII THIS YEAR BEING DEFENDING VANS TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPION?
It’s a little different. I get noticed a little more. A lot more people say hello to me. It’s pretty cool to have that presence. A lot of people ask if I’m going for the Triple Crown again. It’s definitely cool to come back and defend the title.

ARE THE LOCALS RECEIVING YOU A BIT DIFFERENTLY NOW?
I think so, for sure. They might have seen me surf on the WCT, but they didn’t know I could surf well in Hawaii. So, yeah, I think I’ve gained a bit of respect from them.

YOU’RE RANKED SECOND IN THE WORLD. DO YOU THINK YOU’RE STILL UNDERRATED?
Not so much anymore. I’m definitely getting a lot more media and people take me more as a threat now. But still a little bit, compared to the top guys. I don’t get anywhere near as much hype as those guys. I didn’t have the push from sponsors when I was younger like the other guys. I wasn’t splashed everywhere or talked up a lot, so that’s the main reason. But, I like it. There’s no pressure. I can just go about doing things my way. I don’t have to perform to the media and stuff like that.

IS IT WEIRD BEING RANKED SECOND WITH NO HOPES OF WINNING THE TITLE?
Not too weird, because Kelly won it so long ago at Mundaka. But it is kind of weird, I guess. Everyone is just going for second now. It’s the next best thing for us. But, I don’t know if those guys are that hungry for second anymore. I think they’re just enjoying some downtime before next year.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THIS NORTH SHORE SEASON?
I definitely want to back up the Triple Crown. I had good start at Haleiwa with a semis and had a good go at Sunset. Hopefully, we’ll get some big barrels at Pipe. Every time I come to Hawaii I get more comfortable with the place and learn more about it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE NORTH SHORE?
I like how close everything is - all the waves. You can surf all the different waves. I like how relaxed everyone is. All the guys on tour are relaxed. Everyone wants to do well but it’s kind of holiday time as well.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE WAVE IN HAWAII?
My favorite wave would have to be Sunset. It’s a pretty awesome wave. It’s so unique and different to other waves. It’s a real challenge every time you surf it. There’s huge area out there and you have to get right in the “V” of those peaks — if you can do that then you’re killing it out there.

ladies and gentlemen i present you… Mr. Jesse Hines! “coverboy” as we like to call him, snagged his 2nd cover this month! Jesse we love you!